18 U.S.C. 2111, Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025
From fiscal year 2016 through 2025, 186 federal defendants had their cases end with 18 U.S.C. 2111 as the most serious charge, and 168 of them (90%) pleaded guilty. In all, 175 (94%) were convicted. Of those convicted, 167 (95%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 51 months (4.2
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In brief: From fiscal year 2016 through 2025, 186 federal defendants had their cases end with 18 U.S.C. 2111 as the most serious charge, and 168 of them (90%) pleaded guilty. In all, 175 (94%) were convicted. Of those convicted, 167 (95%) received a prison term on this charge, with a median of 51 months (4.2 years).
This post uses the Federal Judicial Center's records of 186 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. The series also draws on the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 659,036 people sentenced in fiscal years 2016 to 2025. It is part of the Federal Prosecution Analysis series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Guilty Pleas Ended Most Cases
The 168 guilty pleas account for 90% of the cases. Dismissals ended 9 cases (5%), and another 9 (5%) went to trial.
A dismissal here means the charges were dropped. The category also covers charges the government dismissed after the person pleaded guilty in another case.
Section 2111 in the Federal Records
Section 2111 of Title 18 in the U.S. Code has the heading "Special maritime and territorial jurisdiction". This post covers defendants whose most serious charge, at the point the case ended, was under that section.
The Federal Judicial Center records were counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Every defendant whose case closed is included, whether the case ended in a plea, a dismissal, or a trial. All 186 charges were felonies.
What Happened at the 9 Trials?
Of the 9 trials, 2 ended in an acquittal (2 of 9). Juries decided 6 of the trials, and both acquittals came from juries (2 of 6). Judges decided the other 3, with no acquittals (0 of 3).
Both acquittals were in fiscal year 2016, when 2 cases went to trial (2 of 2). No acquittal was recorded at trial in any later year.
With so few trials, these results are counts, not stable rates.
Length of Prison Terms
A prison term on this charge was ordered for 167 of the 175 people convicted (95%). Among terms of 1 month or more, the median was 51 months (4.2 years).
The median is the term in the middle once all terms are ranked. It does not show how short or long the other terms were. Terms on other charges in the same case are not counted here.
What Did Counsel Type Show?
CJA panel attorneys, private lawyers appointed by the court, represented 99 defendants (53%). Of those, 94% pleaded guilty, 4% were dismissed, and 2 went to trial without an acquittal (0 of 2).
Federal public or community defenders represented 77 defendants (41%). In that group, 91% pleaded guilty, 4% were dismissed, and 4 went to trial, with 2 acquittals (2 of 4). Private (retained) counsel represented only 10 defendants (5%): 50% pleaded guilty, 20% were dismissed, and 3 went to trial with no acquittals (0 of 3).
Counsel type is the one listed when the case ended. Retained and appointed lawyers usually represent people with different charges and circumstances. These numbers describe groups of cases, not the quality of lawyers, and the retained group is too small to compare.
| Type of counsel at the end of the case | Defendants | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal public or community defender | 77 | 91% | 4% | 4 | 2 (2 of 4) |
| CJA panel attorney | 99 | 94% | 4% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| Private (retained) counsel | 10 | 50% | 20% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
Cases in Each Fiscal Year
Yearly totals ranged from 7 cases in fiscal year 2016 to 34 in fiscal year 2022. Trials resumed in fiscal year 2023 after none from 2017 to 2022, with 2 in 2023, 3 in 2024, and 2 in 2025. Yearly counts this small are not a trend.
| Fiscal year | Cases ended | Pleaded guilty | Dismissed | Trials | Acquitted at trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 | 5 of 7 | 0 of 7 | 2 | 2 (2 of 2) |
| 2017 | 12 | 92% | 8% | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 23 | 96% | 4% | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 11 | 100% | 0% | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 8 | 6 of 8 | 2 of 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 29 | 97% | 3% | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 34 | 91% | 9% | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 29 | 93% | 0% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
| 2024 | 16 | 81% | 0% | 3 | 0 (0 of 3) |
| 2025 | 17 | 82% | 6% | 2 | 0 (0 of 2) |
The Robbery Crosswalk and Other Limits
The approved crosswalk includes this section in the pairing for robbery (Article 122). The comparison posts set these federal cases beside courts-martial. This post reports the federal numbers alone.
The records give only the most serious charge at the end of each case. They contain no facts about the conduct or the reasons for pleas, dismissals, or verdicts.
How We Counted
Every federal defendant whose case ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 and whose most serious charge at the end of the case (TTITLE1) was under 18 U.S.C. 2111, any subsection (186), Federal Judicial Center, counted as in the federal courts' Table D-4. Type of counsel is TCOUNSEL; labels from the FJC criminal codebook. Section heading from the U.S. Code as published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (release point 119-136).
Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.
What to Keep in Mind
Who is in each set of numbers. The federal sentencing numbers come from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They count only people who were convicted and sentenced in federal district court. People whose cases were dismissed or who were acquitted are not in them. The military numbers come from court-martial results, which include acquittals. To compare acquittal or dismissal rates, the federal side uses a different source: the Federal Judicial Center's case data, which counts every defendant whose case ended.
How "plea" and "trial" are counted. In the federal sentencing numbers, "trial" means the person was convicted after a trial, including people who pleaded guilty to some counts and went to trial on others. People acquitted at trial are not in these numbers at all (see "Who is in each set of numbers"). In the federal case data, the trial rate counts both convictions and acquittals at trial among all defendants whose cases ended, including dismissed cases. Military numbers count contested cases that reached a verdict. These denominators are not the same, and each post states the one it uses.
Time periods. Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.
Type of counsel describes groups of cases, not lawyers. The Federal Judicial Center records the type of counsel at the end of the case. Defendants who hire a lawyer differ from defendants who receive an appointed lawyer in their charges, criminal history, and circumstances, and some defendants change lawyers during a case. Differences in outcomes by type of counsel therefore cannot be credited to the type of lawyer.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- 18 U.S.C. 1960, Prohibition of unlicensed money transmitting businesses: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 1962, Prohibited activities: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2113, Bank robbery and incidental crimes: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- 18 U.S.C. 2114, Mail, money, or other property of United States: How Federal Cases Ended, FY2016–2025 (same title of the U.S. Code)
- Appointed vs. Retained Lawyers in Federal Criminal Cases: How Cases Ended, 2016–2025
- Are Courts-Martial More Likely to End in Acquittal Than Federal Trials?
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (source)
About the author. Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts Where All The Bodies Are Buried and runs the Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.